No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
‘All our joys will be complated’: the visit of George IV to Ireland, 1821
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 November 2020
Abstract
The visit of George IV to Ireland in the summer of 1821 prompted an effusive display of royalist emotion. It left a visible and material legacy in Dublin in the form of Kingstown, the Round Room in the Mansion House, King's Bridge, and a variety of prints, paintings, commemorative coins and ephemera. The idea of constructing a palace to facilitate future royal visits was even floated. The visit was reported on extensively in the newspapers of the day and was the subject also of a range of poems, verses and songs. A royal visit made on a whim, together with vested interests and carefully managed propaganda, combined to produce mismatched expectations of what the visit would achieve. This article assesses the visit and argues that while the Dublin administration viewed it as a success, there was, in fact, little positive outcome.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 2020
References
1 London Observer, cited in Belfast News Letter, 10 Aug. 1821.
2 Loughlin, James, The British monarchy and Ireland: 1800 to the present (Cambridge 2007)Google Scholar.
3 Murphy, James H. Abject loyalty: nationalism and monarchy in Ireland during the reign of Queen Victoria (Washington D.C., 2001)Google Scholar.
4 The private letters of Princess Lieven to Prince Metternich, 1820–26, ed. Peter Quennell (New York, 1938), p. 122.
5 Belfast News Letter, 10 Aug. 1821.
6 Hibbert, Christopher, George IV, regent and king, 1811–1830 (London, 1973), p. 102Google Scholar.
7 Lady Jerningham to Lady Bedingfeld, 9 June 1820 in The Jerningham letters 1780–1843, ed. Egerton Castle (2 vols, London 1896), ii, 168–9.
8 See: Poole, Steve, The politics of regicide in England 1760–1850: troublesome subjects (Manchester, 2000), pp 142–54Google Scholar; Trial of Queen Caroline (3 vols, Jersey City, 1879).
9 Mr Wilbraham to Lord Colchester, 18 Aug. 1821 in Diary and correspondence of Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester, ed. Charles, Lord Colchester (3 vols, London, 1861), iii, 233.
10 Thomas Grenville to marquess of Buckingham, 13 Mar. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos (2 vols, London, 1859), i, 125.
11 Newry Telegraph, quoted in British Press, 20 Aug. 1821.
12 Harrison, Mark, Crowds and history: mass phenomena in English towns, 1790–1835 (Cambridge, 1988), p. 234Google Scholar.
13 Linda Colley, ‘The apotheosis of George III: loyalty, royalty and the British nation, 1760–1820’ in Past & Present, no. 102 (Feb. 1984), pp 94–129.
14 K. H. Connell, The population of Ireland, 1750–1845 (Oxford, 1950), pp 230–33; Hugh Fenning, ‘Typhus epidemic in Ireland, 1817–1819: priests, ministers, doctors’ in Collectanea Hibernica, no. 41 (1999), pp 117–52; J. D. Post. The last great subsistence crisis in the western world (London, 1977).
15 Dublin Evening Post, 31 July 1821.
16 Loughlin, The British monarchy and Ireland, p. 19; J. H. Plumb, The first four Georges (London, 1966), p. 151.
17 Daniel O'Connell to Lord Cloncurry, 16 Nov. 1820 in The correspondence of Daniel O'Connell, ed. Maurice O'Connell (8 vols, I.M.C., Dublin, 1972), ii, 870; Freeman's Journal, 30 Dec. 1820.
18 Lord Castlereagh to Lady Castlereagh, 11 Aug. 1821 (P.R.O.N.I., Castlereagh papers, D3030/T/4).
19 Note about the reception of Lord Cloncurry by George IV, Dec. 1828 (P.R.O.N.I., Anglesey papers, D619/32B/8). Lord Cloncurry was one such person. The Dublin and London administrations remained suspicious of him following his release from imprisonment in the Tower of London in 1801 for involvement in United Irish activities.
20 Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser, 26 July 1821.
21 The king's visit to Ireland: in a letter addressed to the people of Ireland (London, 1821), pp 4–5, 34.
22 An address to the inhabitants of Dublin on the intended visit of the king (Dublin, 1821), p. 23.
23 Lord Eldon to Sir William Scott, after 17 April 1821 in Horace Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon (2 vols, London, 1844), ii, 81.
24 Sir Henry Parnell to J. D. Scully, 19 Mar. 1821 in The Catholic question in Ireland and England 1798–1822: the papers of Denys Scully, ed. Brian MacDermot (Dublin, 1988), pp 643–4.
25 Loughlin, The British monarchy and Ireland, p. 20.
26 O'Conor Don to Daniel O'Connell, 18 June 1821 in W. J. Fitzpatrick, Correspondence of Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator (2 vols, London, 1888), ii, 326.
27 Freeman's Journal, 9 July 1821.
28 Sir Henry Parnell to Denis Scully, 19 Apr. 1821 in The Catholic question in Ireland and England, ed. MacDermot, p. 648.
29 Thomas McGrath, Politics, interdenominational relations and education in the public ministry of Bishop James Doyle of Kildare and Leighlin, 1786–1834 (Dublin, 1999), p. 8.
30 Bishop Doyle to Henry Parnell, 22 Apr. 1821 in William John Fitzpatrick, The life, times, and correspondence of the Right Rev. Dr Doyle, bishop of Kildare and Leighlin (2 vols, Boston, 1862), i, 167–8.
31 Freeman's Journal, 27 July 1820. See also Jacqueline Hill, ‘Popery and Protestantism, civil and religious liberty: the disputed lessons of Irish history, 1690–1812’ in Past & Present, no. 118 (Feb. 1988), pp 96–129.
32 Freeman's Journal, 31 July 1821.
33 Belfast News Letter, 17 Aug. 1821; Charles W. Wynn to the marquess of Buckingham, 9 Sept. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 197.
34 London Observer, cited in Belfast News Letter, 10 Aug. 1821.
35 Finn's Leinster Journal, 14 July 1821.
36 The king's visit to Ireland: a funny poem by Human Reason Esq., in a letter to common sense (London, 1823), p. 49.
37 Dublin Evening Post, 31 July 1821.
38 The king's visit to Ireland: a funny poem, p. 5
39 William Russel McDonald, The Dublin mail: or intercepted correspondence to which is added a packet of poems (London, 1822), p. 19.
40 An address to the inhabitants of Dublin on the intended visit of the king, p. 25.
41 Freeman's Journal, 6 Aug. 1821.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid., 10 Aug. 1821.
44 John Chambers to Robert Simms, 25 May 1821 (P.R.O.N.I., Robert Simms emigrant papers, T1815/22).
45 Freeman's Journal, 26 July 1821.
46 Dublin Evening Post, 26 July 1821.
47 Freeman's Journal, 18 Aug. 1821.
48 ‘Excellent new song composed by James Scott Esq MD on Thursday 19 July’ in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, x, no. 54 (Aug. 1821), p. 100.
49 Freeman's Journal, 6 Aug. 1821.
50 Ibid., 1 Aug. 1821.
51 Ibid., 6 Aug. 1821.
52 Mary Clarke, ‘The Mansion House’ in Dublin Historical Record, lx, no. 2 (autumn 2007), p. 223.
53 G. N. Wright, An historical guide to ancient and modern Dublin (London, 1821), pp 207–8.
54 Freeman's Journal, 21 Aug. 1821. Permission was also sought for the cleaning of the road from Baggot Street to Dunleary for the arrival of the king, and the pavements on the streets along the king's route through Dublin were sanded (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/1176, 1177).
55 Freeman's Journal, 31 Aug. 1821.
56 Loughlin, The British monarchy and Ireland, p. 27; Belfast News Letter 21 Aug. 1821.
57 Padhraig Higgins, A nation of politicians: gender, patriotism and political culture in late eighteenth-century Ireland (Madison, WI, 2010), p. 57.
58 James Kelly, ‘The glorious and immortal memory: commemoration and Protestant identity in Ireland 1660-1800’ in Proc. R.I.A., sect. c, xciv (1994), pp 25–52.
59 Jacqueline Hill, ‘National festivals, the state and “Protestant ascendancy” in Ireland, 1790–1829’ in I.H.S., xxiv, no. 93 (May 1984), pp 30–51.
60 David Cannadine, ‘The context, performance and meaning of ritual: the British monarchy and the “invention of tradition”, c.1820–1977’ in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (eds), The invention of tradition (Cambridge, 1983), p. 117.
61 W. H. Fremantle to the marquess of Buckingham, 26 Aug. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 194.
62 Belfast News Letter, 17 Aug. 1821.
63 Robert, second marquess of Londonderry to his wife, Emily, 2 Sept. 1821 (P.R.O.N.I., Castlereagh papers, D3030/T/4). Lady Elizabeth Conyngham was George IV's mistress and was married to the Henry Burton Conyngham, marquess Conyngham of Slane Castle, County Meath.
64 Freeman's Journal, 4 Sept. 1821.
65 The journal of Mrs Arbuthnot, 1820–32, ed. Francis Bamford and the seventh duke of Wellington (2 vols, London, 1950), i, 115.
66 Belfast News Letter, 21 Aug. 1821.
67 Diary of John Wilson Croker, 17 Aug. 1821 in The Croker papers: the correspondence and diaries of John Wilson Croker, ed. Louis J. Jennings (3 vols, London, 1885), i, 202.
68 Belfast News Letter, 21 Aug. 1821.
69 See, for example, Martyn J. Powell, The politics of consumption in eighteenth-century Ireland (Basingstoke, 2005) on the important role of the press in the creation of a patriotic spirit among the public in the eighteenth century and James Kelly, Food rioting in Ireland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: the ‘moral economy’ and the Irish crowd (Dublin, 2017), on how the press influenced attitudes towards food rioting in Ireland in the early-nineteenth century.
70 Freeman's Journal, 10 Aug. 1821.
71 See, for example, Belfast News Letter, 17 Aug. 1821.
72 Freeman's Journal, 24 Aug. 1828.
73 R. Love, Liverpool, to Robert Love, Petersburg, 16 Sept. 1821 (P.R.O.N.I., Heron and Dobson papers, T2393/2/25).
74 Quoted in Joanna Richardson, George IV: a portrait (London, 1966), p. 230.
75 W. H. Fremantle to the marquess of Buckingham, 26 Aug. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 194.
76 William Wallace, The history of the life and reign of George the Fourth (3 vols, London, 1832), iii, 240.
77 McGrath, Politics, interdenominational relations and education in the public ministry of Bishop Doyle, p. 8; Countess of Glengall to Mrs Taylor, 27 Aug. 1821 in The Creevey papers: a selection of correspondence and diaries of the late Thomas Creevey MP, ed. Herbert Maxwell (2 vols, London, 1904), ii, 29.
78 Freeman's Journal, 3 Sept. 1821.
79 The Lady's Monthly Museum; or, Polite Repository of Amusement and Instruction, ser. 3, xiv (Oct. 1821), p. 223.
80 Wallace, The history of the life and reign of George the Fourth, iii, 240.
81 Quoted in Percy Hethrington Fitzgerald, The life of George the Fourth including his letters and opinions (2 vols, London, 1881), i, 757.
82 Valentine Lord Cloncurry, Personal recollections of the life and times with extracts from the correspondence of Valentine Lord Cloncurry (2nd ed., Dublin, 1850), p. 235.
83 The works of John Dryden: Albion and Albanius, Don Sebastian, Amphitryon, eds Earl Miner and George R. Guffey (20 vols, Berkeley, 1976), xv, 94.
84 Thomas Travers Burke, The royal visit: a poem on the arrival in Ireland of his most gracious majesty George the Fourth in the month of August, 1821 (Dublin, 1821), pp 10, 14.
85 Freeman's Journal, 24 Aug. 1821.
86 Finn's Leinster Journal, 14 Sept. 1821.
87 Robert, second marquess of Londonderry to his wife, Emily, 23 Aug. 1821 (P.R.O.N.I., Castlereagh papers, D3030/T/4).
88 Letter from Sarah Monk, County Westmeath, widow, requesting assistance (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/547); petition of Matilda Manoe, widow, requesting government relief (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/897).
89 Robert Huish, Memoirs of the late William Cobbett embracing all the interesting events of his memorable life obtained from private and confidential sources (2 vols, London, 1836), i, 233.
90 An address to the inhabitants of Dublin on the intended visit of the king, p. 27.
91 Iain McCalman, Radical underworld: prophets, revolutionaries and pornographers in London, 1795-1840 (Cambridge, 1988), p. 176.
92 Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 193.
93 Freeman's Journal, 20 Aug. 1821.
94 Belfast News Letter, 21 Aug. 1821.
95 The Creevey papers, ed. Maxwell, ii, 90.
96 John Banvard, The private life of the king (New York, 1875), p. 598.
97 Quoted in Shane Leslie, George the Fourth (Boston, 1926), p. 118.
98 Duke of Montrose to Lord Eldon, 30 Aug. 1821 in Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, ii, 433.
99 W. H. Fremantle to the marquess of Buckingham, 26 Aug. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 194.
100 John Hall to Sam Hall, 27 May 1821 (Ulster-American Folk Park, 9509123).
101 Duke of Montrose to Lord Eldon, 30 Aug. 1821 in Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, ii, 433.
102 Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, 24 Aug. 1821 : ‘It is impossible for the cold and methodical English to get an idea of the liveliness and the warmth with which the Irish people expressed their feelings.’
103 The Courier, quoted in Finn's Leinster Journal, 5 Sept. 1821.
104 Croker to Peel, 14 Sept. 1821 in Croker papers, ed. Jennings, i, 214–15.
105 The Examiner, quoted in Finn's Leinster Journal, 5 Sept. 1821.
106 Lord Eldon to Lord Stowell, end Aug. 1821 in Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, ii, 435.
107 Baron Stowell to Lord Sidmouth, 31 Aug. 1821 in George Pellew, The life and correspondence of Henry Addington, First Viscount Sidmouth (3 vols, London, 1847), iii, 363.
108 Saunders's News-Letter, 18 Aug. 1821.
109 Harrison, Crowds and history, p. 5.
110 Higgins, A nation of politicians; Allan Blackstock, Loyalism in Ireland, 1789-1829 (Woodbridge, 2007).
111 Tim Harris, ‘Introduction’ in idem (ed.), The politics of the excluded, c.1500–1850 (New York, 2001), p. 8.
112 Address to the Catholics of Ireland, 1 Jan, 1821 in The life and speeches of Daniel O'Connell M.P., ed. John O'Connell (2 vols, Dublin, 1846), ii, 302–4
113 Patrick M. Geoghegan, ‘The impact of O'Connell, 1815–1850’ in James Kelly (ed.), The Cambridge history of Ireland, iii: 1730–1880 (Cambridge 2018), p. 109.
114 W. H. Fremantle to marquess of Buckingham, 16 Sept. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820-1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 199.
115 The king's visit: a funny poem, p. 27.
116 Countess of Glengall to Mrs Taylor, 27 Aug. 1821 in The Creevey papers, ed. Maxwell, ii, 30.
117 Russel McDonald, Dublin Mail, p. 73.
118 J. W. Lake, The works of Lord Byron including the suppressed poems (Philadelphia, 1856), p. 516.
119 Memoirs, journal and correspondence of Thomas Moore, 1779–1852, ed. Lord John Russell (8 vols, London, 1853–6), iii, 276.
120 Robert Huish, The memoirs private and political of Daniel O'Connell (London, 1836), p. 121. Huish was a prolific, but generally poorly regarded, English author of history books whose works exhibit anti-Tory prejudices.
121 The king's visit to Ireland: a funny poem, p. 29.
122 Ibid., p. 30.
123 Ibid., p. 26.
124 E. A. Smith, George IV (New Haven, 1999), p. viii; Robert Huish, Memoirs of George the Fourth descriptive of the most interesting scenes of his private and public life and the important events of his memorable reign (2 vols, London, 1830), ii, 325.
125 Huish, Memoirs of George the Fourth, ii, 327.
126 Sidmouth to Bathurst, 26 Aug. 1821, quoted in Philip Ziegler, Addington: a life of Henry Addington, first Viscount Sidmouth (London, 1965), p. 397.
127 The Croker papers, ed. Jennings, i, 206–7.
128 Huish, Memoirs of George the Fourth, ii, 322–3.
129 Charles John Gardiner, earl of Blessington, Observations addressed to his excellency the marquess of Wellesley on the state of Ireland (London, 1822), p. 13.
130 K. Weir, Sligo, to Charles Grant, chief secretary, 1821 (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/881).
131 Jeremiah Long to George IV, 27 Aug. 1821 (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/979).
132 Petition of Samuel Buck requesting government employment (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/1629); petition of Christiana and William-Amelia Southwell requesting government assistance (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/871); petition of Louise Willington requesting government assistance (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/896).
133 General Sir Andrew Barnard to Lady Anne Barnard, 24 Aug. 1821 in The Barnard Letters, 1778-1824, ed. Anthony Powell (2 vols, London, 1928), ii, 298.
134 Countess of Glengall to Mrs Taylor, 27 Aug. 1821 in The Creevey papers, ed. Maxwell, ii, 30.
135 The king's visit to Ireland: a funny poem, p. 42.
136 Thomas Charles Morgan, The royal progress, a canto: with notes written on occasion of his majesty's visit to Ireland, August 1821 by Humphry Oldcastle (London, 1821), p. 84.
137 Ibid.
138 Mary Clark, ‘The Mansion House, Dublin’ in Dublin Historical Record, lx, no. 2 (autumn 2007), p. 224. This room is now known as the Round Room.
139 Petition of John Kellet, Dublin, requesting government compensation or employment, 11 Sept. 1821 (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/1401).
140 Morgan, The royal progress, p. 73.
141 Duke of Montrose to Lord Eldon, 30 Aug. 1821 in Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, ii, 433.
142 Menu book for the day of the coronation of George IV, 19 July 1821, part II – bills of fare for Dublin and Edinburgh during the visit of George IV following his coronation (Royal Archives, Windsor, GEO/MAIN/MIXED/8).
143 The Scotsman, cited in Finn's Leinster Journal, 5 Sept. 1821.
144 Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 207.
145 Lord Redesdale to Lord Colchester, 8 Sept. 1822 in Diary and correspondence of Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester, ed. Colchester, iii, 256; Lord Redesdale to Lord Eldon, 19 Dec. 1821 in Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, 443.
146 Fitzgerald, The life of George the Fourth, 753.
147 The Creevey papers, ed. Maxwell, ii, 31.
148 MacDonagh, Oliver, The hereditary bondsman: Daniel O'Connell, 1775–1829 (London, 1988), p. 176Google Scholar.
149 The parting admonition and injunction of his most gracious majesty King George IV to his faithful Irish people (Dublin 1821) (N.L.I., EPH C748).
150 Wallace, The history of the life and reign of George the Fourth, iii, 243; The life and speeches of Daniel O'Connell, ed. O'Connell, ii, 334.
151 Sir Walter Scott to Maria Edgeworth, 7–24 Oct. 1821 in The letters of Sir Walter Scott: e-text (http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/etexts/etexts/letters7.PDF) (16 June 2020).
152 Freeman's Journal, 12 Sept. 1821; Belfast News Letter, 11 Sept. 1821.
153 Catholic Association of Ireland ([London], 1825) (N.L.I., EPH D418).
154 Huish, Memoirs of George the Fourth, ii, 322–3.
155 W. H. Fremantle to the marquess of Buckingham, 21 Sept. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 202; The Croker papers, ed. Jennings, i, 213.
156 Cloncurry, Personal recollections, p. 235.
157 Morgan, The royal progress, p. 88.
158 Jackson, Alvin, The two unions: Ireland, Scotland and the survival of the United Kingdom, 1707–2007 (Oxford, 2012), p. 200Google Scholar.
159 Lord Redesdale to Lord Eldon, 19 Dec. 1821 in Twiss, The public and private life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, ii, 443; William J. O'Neil Daunt, Personal recollections of the late Daniel O'Connell MP (2 vols, London 1848), i, 131.
160 An address to the inhabitants of Dublin on the intended visit of the king, p. 21.
161 Farrell, Sean, Rituals and riots: sectarian violence and political culture in Ulster, 1784–1886 (Lexington, KY, 2009), p. 65Google Scholar.
162 Shunsuke Katsuta, ‘Conciliation, anti-Orange politics and the sectarian scare: Dublin politics of the early 1820s’ in Dublin Historical Record, lxiv, no. 2 (autumn 2011), pp 142–59.
163 Anonymous to Charles Grant, chief secretary, 17 Sept. 1821 (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/316).
164 Morgan, The royal progress, p. 73.
165 Thomas Grenville to the marquess of Buckingham, 28 Oct. 1821 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 215.
166 Sir Herbert Taylor to duke of Wellington, 5 Dec. 1821 (University of Southampton, Wellington papers, WP1/688/4).
167 Copy of letter from Sir Edward O'Brien, concerning distress of Irish population, 24 Nov. 1821 (N.A.I., C.S.O.R.P. 1821/1050).
168 Freeman's Journal, 7 Sept. 1821. The money was eventually used to construct King's Bridge, now Sean Heuston Bridge.
169 Lord Sidmouth to Lord Chancellor Manners, 12 Dec. 1821 in Pellew, Life and correspondence of Henry Addington, first Viscount Sidmouth, iii, 380.
170 Charles Wynn to the duke of Buckingham, 17 Jan. 1822 in Memoirs of the court of George IV, 1820–1830, ed. the duke of Buckingham and Chandos, i, 274.
171 The private letters of Princess Lieven, ed. Quennell, p. 154.
172 Report from the select committee on the employment of the poor in Ireland, p. 5, H.C. 1823 (561), vi, 335.
173 Edinburgh Annual Register, xiv (1824), p. 80.
174 K. Theodore Hoppen, ‘An incorporating Union? British politicians and Ireland, 1800–1830’ in E.H.R., cxxii, no. 501 (Apr. 2008), p. 344; idem, Governing Hibernia: British politicians and Ireland, 1800–1921 (Oxford, 2016), p. 36.
175 See in particular quotes from The Courier, The Times, British Traveller, The Globe, Morning Chronicle and The Scotsman cited in Finn's Leinster Journal, 5 Sept. 1821.
176 Morning Chronicle, quoted in Finn's Leinster Journal, 5 Sept. 1821.
177 The king's visit to Ireland: a funny poem, p. 65.
178 Lloyd, H. E., George IV: memoirs of his life and reign interspersed with numerous anecdotes to which is prefixed an historical account of the house of Brunswick from the earliest period (London, 1830), p. 418Google Scholar. I would like to thank Professor James Kelly of Dublin City University for his advice and guidance in the preparation of this article.